KING TUT MASK

This artifact is King Tut's funeral mask. King Tut became pharaoh of Egypt at age nine and died in his late teens. The mask was made in 1323 B.C. by Egyptian craftsmen after Tut's death. The mask was found in 1922 by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings. When Carter examined it, the mask was stuck to Tut's face. The Egyptians painted the mask with colors from juices of plants they grew on the farm lands of the Nile River Valley. Most of the mask was made out of gold. The mask also has lots of symbols on it such as "Ra," the Sun God. There are symbols for Lower and Upper Egypt. The symbol for Upper Egypt is the snake. The symbol for Lower Egypt is the vulture. There is hieroglyphic writing that says "King Tut" on the mask.

Tutankhamen's mask solid gold, was placed directly upon the pharaoh's mummy, and had the function Of magically protecting him. This beautiful object weighs 10 kg (24 lbs) and is decorated with semiprecious stones (turquoise, cornelian and lapis lazuli) and coloured glass paste